Editor’s note: “Juju sex slaves” is a three part series on the trafficking of Nigerian women. Read Part 1: Nigerian juju magic forces women into prostitution; Part 2: Juju trafficking: one Nigerian woman’s prostitution ordeal.

BENIN CITY, Nigeria — After enduring five years of sexual servitude in Italy, Patience Ken was deported and unceremoniously dumped back in Nigeria. Penniless, she sold her cell phone to pay for the journey from Nigeria’s financial capital, Lagos, to her village in Edo State.

She had been lured to Europe with the promise of a good job. It was a horrific ordeal. And when she arrived back home, her family was not happy to see her.